Guest Author:Justice Markandey Katju(Retired)
There are two main Eid’s among Muslims, Eid-ul-Fitr, which is celebrated after the Holy month of Ramadan ( or Ramzan ), and Eid al Adha or Eid-ul-Zoha (also called Bakrid), which commemorates Prophet Abraham’s sacrifice of a lamb to God. These two are celebrated by all Muslims. Today, 26th August 2026, is Eid Milad un Nabi, the birthday of Prophet Muhammad.
But there are some other Eids which are not celebrated by all Muslims, and among these is Eid Milad un Nabi.
The objection to celebrating it is by Wahabis and Salafis ( the extremist Muslims ) who say that in Islam there is only one God, Allah, who should be worshipped, whereas celebrating the birthday of the Prophet implies, according to them, attributing divinity to the Prophet i.e. treating him as a God, which means there are 2 Gods. This is a blasphemy called ‘shirk’, i.e. giving a companion to God.
When I was a Judge of the Allahabad High Court a petition was filed before me by some Salafi Muslims, and their prayer was that I should prohibit the taking out of a procession in Saharanpur district in UP on the occasion of Eid Milad un-Nabi, which was on the next day.
I asked the learned counsel for the petitioners why I should pass such an order ? He replied that celebrating Ed Milad un-Nabi was unislamic and offends the religious feelings of the petitioners.
I said that if the petitioners did not wish to celebrate Eid Milad un-Nabi they need not celebrate it, and they need not participate in the procession or look at it. But India was a free country, and there was no law prohibiting such a celebration or procession by others. I would only enforce the law, not religious feelings.
In fact those celebrating Eid Milad un Nabi do not regard the Prophet as God, but only express their love and respect for him.
Saying so, I dismissed the petition.
I may relate another incident.
When I was a Judge in the Supreme Court a petition was filed before a bench presided over by me by some Wahabi type Muslims who prayed that an order should be passed prohibiting any Muslim from saying ”Ya Ali” or ”Ya Gharib Nawaz” ( Ali was the son-in-law of the Prophet, and Gharib Nawaz is the appellation often attributed to the saint of Ajmer dargah, Hazrat Moinuddin Chishti ).
I asked why we should pass such an order ? The counsel replied that saying ” Ya Ali ” or ” Ya Gharib Nawaz ” was shirk, as it treated Ali or Moinuddin Chishti as Gods.
I said that saying it does not violate any law, and the petition was frivolous and without any merit. If the petitioners did not want to say ” Ya Ali ” or ”Ya Gharib Nawaz” they need not say it, but how can they stop others from saying it in a free country ?
Accordingly, we dismissed the petition.
The extremist Wahabi type Muslims also object to visiting dargahs, which are graves of sufi saints over which a structure has been constructed. They say that visiting dargahs is worshipping graves, which is forbidden by Islam which permits only worship of Allah.
But in fact those who visit dargahs, which often includes many Hindus and Sikhs too, apart from Muslims, do not worship the graves, but only show their respect to the sufi saints who spread the message of love, compassion, and tolerance.
India is a country of great diversity, and hence we must have tolerance and not bigotry if we wish to keep our country united. Indian Islam is Sufi Islam, and Wahabi Islam or other kinds of extremism have no place in it
About the Author :Justice Markandey Katju is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India and former Chairman of the Press Council of India, known for his outspoken views on social, political, and legal issues. He writes and speaks extensively on justice, secularism, and the socio-economic transformation of India.
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